Thoughts on food prices

According to recent news reports, perhaps a sliver of relief is on the way for the price of rice. Apparently there is a bumper boro crop this year (see here). This, plus the expected arrival of imported rice, has apparently caused the price rises to cease, at least for now. This is certainly welcome news.

But there are still serious grounds for worry. According to the Financial Times, rice prices rose more than 10 per cent last week as rice importing countries (including Bangladesh) tried to secure supplies from the handful of exporters still selling the grain in the international market. The price jump came as leading exporting countries including Vietnam, India, China and Egypt, banned foreign sales.